An important consideration in the construction of buildings is energy conservation. In view of the extensive use of glass in modern construction, a particular problem is heat loss through glass surfaces and glazed building envelopes. One solution to this problem has been an increased use of insulating glass units comprising basically two or more glass panels separated by a sealed dry air space. Sealed insulating glass units generally require some means of mechanically separating the glass panels by a precise distance, such as by rigid spacers.
The spacers historically used are rectangular channels made of steel, aluminum or some other metal, with an internal desiccant to adsorb moisture from the space between the glass panels and to keep the encapsulated sealed air space dry. Tubular spacers are commonly roll-formed into the desired cross sectional shape. Steel spacers are generally considered the cheapest and strongest option, but aluminum spacers are easier to cut and form into non standard window shapes such as semicircles. Aluminum also provides lightweight structural integrity, but it is more expensive than steel. Metal spacers are manufactured by PPG of Pittsburgh, Pa. and Allmetal Inc. of Itasca, Ill. Spacers made entirely of plastic or from a combination of metal and plastic, termed warm edge spacers, have also been used to a limited extent. Manufacturers of these types of spacers include EdgeTech I.G., Inc. of Cambridge, Ohio and Swisspacer of Kreuzlingen, Switzerland.
There are specific factors that influence the suitability of the spacer material or design for use in high performance windows. Of most importance are the spacer's heat conducting properties and the spacer material's coefficient of thermal expansion. To date, metal has been the most widely used spacer material even though as a material it has a number of disadvantages in both of these areas. First, the thermal conductivity of metal is unacceptably high for use as a spacer. Since a metal spacer is a much better conductor of heat than is the glass or the air space between the panes of glass, its use leads to the rapid transfer of heat between the inside glass pane and the outside glass pane resulting in heat dissipation, energy loss, moisture condensation and other window assembly performance shortcomings. For example, in a sealed insulated glass unit, heat from within a building tries to escape in winter, and it takes the path of least resistance. The path of least resistance is around the perimeter of a sealed window unit, where the metal spacer bar is located. Metal spacers contacting the inner and outer panes of glass act as conductors between the panes and provide an easy path for the transmission of heat from the inside glass panel to the outside panel. As a result, under low temperature conditions in winter, condensation of moisture can occur inside the insulating glass or on the surfaces of the inner glass panel. Also, heat is rapidly lost from around the perimeter of the window, often causing a ten to twenty degree Fahrenheit temperature drop at the perimeter of the window relative to the center thereof. Under extreme conditions in winter, a frost line can occur around the perimeter of the window unit. These conditions undermine the energy efficiency of the window, and ultimately, the energy efficiency of the building itself.
A second important feature of the spacer material is its coefficient of thermal expansion. The coefficient of expansion of commonly used spacer materials is much higher than that of glass. Any difference in thermal expansion causes problems in the form of glass stress, seal shear and failure, or spacer damage. For example, the coefficient of linear thermal expansion for steel is twice that of glass (17.3×10−6 inches per deg K versus 8.5×10−6 inches per deg K). This difference is particularly critical in climates that have large changes in temperature. As a result of such changes in temperature, stresses do develop at the interface between the glass and spacer bar and in the perimeter seal. This often results in damage to and failure of the sealed insulating glass unit, such as by sufficient lengthwise shrinkage of the spacer to cause it to pull away from the sealant and therefore cause premature failure of the insulating glass unit. Many window units tend to fail due to such stress cracks or loss of seal resulting in water vapor condensation which is deposited inside the panes and observed as window fogging. Such a condition results in a warranty callback and a window replacement.
Although the issue of thermal expansion is important to window durability, the most common spacer material commercially used in the manufacture of such insulated glass units has been metal due to cost and a lack of viable alternate materials.
A final problem inherent in previous spacer arrangements is that a rigid spacer provides an excellent path for the transmission of sound from the outer panel to the inside panel. This poses a particular problem in high-noise areas such as airports, urban environments, and commercial office spaces. Other institutions such as hospitals and schools also have a need and performance mandate for low sound transmission glass units. For reasons of sound control, steel and other similar metals may be a poor material choice. Other spacer materials should be sought with the aim of improving acoustical performance of insulated glass units.
The prior art has attempted to overcome the drawbacks noted above by providing composite spacers commonly termed ‘warm edge’ spacers. For instance, U.S. Pat. No. 4,113,905 discloses a composite foam spacer for separation of double insulated glass panes. The spacer includes a thin extruded metal or plastic core and a relatively thick foam plastic layer cast to the core to form a 0.025 to 0.150 inch thick layer around the core. Such a spacer provides advantages due to the structural rigidity provided by the metal base but suffers from a relatively thin insulating layer resulting in unacceptable thermal transfer.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,222,213 and 5,485,709 disclose additional composite spacers. Both patents disclose a thin plastic insulation which is in contact with one glass surface and thereafter fitted by contact pressure or friction over a portion of a conventional extruded or roll-formed metal spacer or plastic/metal composite. The plastic insulating overlay can be formed over a conventional extruded metal spacer and from an extrudable thermoplastic resin. However, the force fit and the bi-material construction of such a spacer can result in separation of the two components with changes in temperature due to the different thermal expansion coefficients of the metal and the plastic and again allow for substantial thermal bridging across the structure. These features are undesirable.
Descriptions of additional novel composite window unit spacer designs can also be found in U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,035,603, 6,581,341, 6,989,188 and 7,270,859.
Accordingly, what is needed is an insulating spacer which creates a thermally insulating bridge between spaced-apart panes in a multiple pane, insulated glass unit which overcomes the above-noted drawbacks.